Krugman: A very, very good budget

[johan helge]

Krugman (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/opinion/27krugman.html?_r=1):

Elections have consequences. President Obama’s new budget represents a huge break, not just with the policies of the past eight years, but with policy trends over the past 30 years. If he can get anything like the plan he announced on Thursday through Congress, he will set America on a fundamentally new course.

The budget will, among other things, come as a huge relief to Democrats who were starting to feel a bit of postpartisan depression. The stimulus bill that Congress passed may have been too weak and too focused on tax cuts. The administration’s refusal to get tough on the banks may be deeply disappointing. But fears that Mr. Obama would sacrifice progressive priorities in his budget plans, and satisfy himself with fiddling around the edges of the tax system, have now been banished.

For this budget allocates $634 billion over the next decade for health reform. That’s not enough to pay for universal coverage, but it’s an impressive start. And Mr. Obama plans to pay for health reform, not just with higher taxes on the affluent, but by putting a halt to the creeping privatization of Medicare, eliminating overpayments to insurance companies.

On another front, it’s also heartening to see that the budget projects $645 billion in revenues from the sale of emission allowances. After years of denial and delay by its predecessor, the Obama administration is signaling that it’s ready to take on climate change.

And these new priorities are laid out in a document whose clarity and plausibility seem almost incredible to those of us who grew accustomed to reading Bush-era budgets, which insulted our intelligence on every page. This is budgeting we can believe in.

(..)


And even if fundamental health care reform brings costs under control, I at least find it hard to see how the federal government can meet its long-term obligations without some tax increases on the middle class. Whatever politicians may say now, there’s probably a value-added tax in our future.

But I don’t blame Mr. Obama for leaving some big questions unanswered in this budget. There’s only so much long-run thinking the political system can handle in the midst of a severe crisis; he has probably taken on all he can, for now. And this budget looks very, very good.

[CTLawGuy]

1. Holy crap

Krugman said something nice about Obama!

[nakanishi oshi]

2. I'll recommend two columnists to you

E.J. Dionne and Bob Herbert. If nice things about Obama is what you are seeking, they are your guys.

[CTLawGuy]

5. how about guys who don't

bash Obama in every single column, Ill take that.

[nakanishi oshi]

11. Pushing someone to the left is bashing?

That's news to me.

[roguevalley]

37. you confuse Obama with his ideas. Bashing ideas that don't work

is always good. Confusing that with Obama bashing is innane.

[depakid]

3. Could you have written anything shallower?

One wonders.

The trick will be whether Democrats in the Senate have the smarts and the integrity to get this through.

They certainly have the ability to do so:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/democrats-should-just-say_b_168073.html

Whether or not they will is another matter.

[CTLawGuy]

4. yes I could have, but it's early

NT

[Renew Deal]

8. Could he have written anything more accurate?

I thought the same thing. Krugman is actually saying something positive about Obama? Can't be.

[ClarkUSA]

9. Rahm Emanuel must've had a little chat with Prof. Krugman.

[mucifer]

18. Rham Emmanuel is not the President. I don't know what you are implying.

[nakanishi oshi]

21. me either

Krugman praised the budget for being big enough, while Emanuel is in charge of watering down bills to make Olympia Snowe happy.

I thus don't understand how this column by Krugman could have been influenced by Emanuel.

[Lilith Velkor]

33. The implication is that Rahm threatened him.

I can picture it : Emanuel grabbing Krugman by the collar and holding an X-acto knife up to his face, growling the question, "Do you want to know how I lost this finger? Hanh? Do ya?" as his knife hand extends the middle finger.

In a blur of movement, Krugman uses his little-known jujitsu training and throws him off. Unfazed, Emanuel laughs heartily and asks, "Why so serious?" as he slowly backs out of Krugman's office.

That must have been how it went down.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

27. I think Krugman, like most of us, just disagrees with some things and agrees with others.

[chill_wind]

39. ROF!! You are joking, right? n/t

[BeyondGeography]

10. Was that a monkey that just flew out of my butt?

[Lilith Velkor]

19. No, that was your head.

[BeyondGeography]

20. And a fine good morning to you, too

:patriot:

[Lilith Velkor]

22. Cheers!

:toast:

(WTF, it's Friday.)

[BeyondGeography]

24. And T effing G for that

:toast:

[babylonsister]

16. I too am shocked, in a good way! nt

[mmonk]

6. I agree with its overall trajectory.

I don't like the mortgage deductability modification on homes owned by people making over $250K because it will have a ripple effect on the housing market and could affect local tax receipts in the longer run as there could be decline in housing values in higher priced urban areas. But overall, it a great step forward.

[democrattotheend]

7. This is very encouraging

Krugman has been pretty critical of Obama, but he is well-respected and I generally agree with him on policy, so I take his criticism seriously and his seal of approval on the President's budget is encouraging. Of course, the budget will probably be watered down some by Republicans and Blue Dogs before it passes, but I am glad to see President Obama shoot for the moon this time.

[Clio the Leo]

12. It occurred to me this morning that the ONLY negative thing I've heard....

.... about the budget is that "it's too optimistic." (silence................ )

:)

[Mass]

13. But, but, he does not understand politics.\nt

[Teaser]

26. Yeah, he doesn't

but stopped clocks and whatnot.

[Jennicut]

14. It is a good budget. Ambitious and thinking towards the future.

[Forkboy]

15. Is Krugman good or bad this week?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

25. Do you think FedEx can outrun UPS?

I've got to speed some flowers ahead of the box of dog crap I sent him yesterday :P

[Forkboy]

31. LOL

Gives new meaning to "What can brown do for you?" :rofl:

[DevonRex]

29. He's always a great economist. Sometimes he's too snarky as a columnist.

No liberal is all good or all bad.

[Forkboy]

32. That would be the sane response.

Are you sure you belong here? ;)

[DevonRex]

36. Thank goodness I do. Gotta belong somewhere. Ready for some more sanity?

Snark sells papers and gets people talking. So sometimes the snark is just for the sake of snark, which sells the paper, which pays Mr. Krugman's salary and advertises his books, which people will buy because they love his snark. Let's just call it his personal economy.

:)

[BlooInBloo]

17. hahaha! This is gonna KILL the ihateobama people!

Without Krugman criticizing, they got nuthin!

:rofl:

[Forkboy]

23. I dunno, the I Hate Krugman people seem to be having a hard time as well.

[paulk]

34. I wish I could live in your black and white world

life would be so much easier

[vaberella]

28. What's up with the massive tension here?!

I thought this was a fair analysis and I find a lot of Krugman's criticisms fair although laden with asymmetrical information. That being said, I'm an Obama supporter as well. I also had issues with the tax cuts that Obama put in, and I felt it was way way too much even if we're trying to make this bipartisan. So this is definitely a step forward.

[Lilith Velkor]

35. Just some sad sacks who never got over the primaries.

Every time there's an OP about Krugman or either of the Clintons, they have shit fits.

The admins have been gracious enough to keep them around so we can make fun of them.

[vaberella]

38. Ahh, understood. n/t

[DevonRex]

30. Good column. nt